Kashmiri Chai

My tryst with Kashmiri chai was by accident. On a holiday, when we were back home after a long trip and didn’t know where to have our dinner from, we randomly decided to barge into the new Pakistani joint that had opened a couple of buildings away. We definitely enjoyed the charga, the rotis and the kadai and as usual, me and D craved for something hot. I always prefer to sip tea after a heavy meal at a restaurant, but somehow this time, I wanted to try something different. That’s when the waiter suggested that we try the Kashmiri chai. It was winter during that time and therefore this tea was quite a hit, he said. I did not understand the logic but we ordered for both of us. A tea with a nice hue of pink, sprinkled with chopped pistachios and smelling of rose essence, it was love at first sight!!! I absolutely loved it to the core, however D did not have the same opinion. Before we left for a trip to Muscat last December, I had got HD to try it as well, but he didn’t like it. I don’t know why the men didn’t become fond, but for sure, I was hooked onto it!

That is when my hunt for making this chai at home started. Google wasn’t of much help. There were a few links and a few YouTube videos which I did not find it helpful. That is when I remembered my dear friend Ainy and decided to ask for her help. She explained to me that the pink in the tea was not natural, it was derived by adding a pinch of red color and what we normally get after cooking is a brownish pink which is absolutely normal. That explains why the links and videos showed a different color to what I had drunk at the restaurant! She even went on to post the recipe so that it would be of help for me. Now why this special chai for Kashmir? Because of the cold weather there! I am talking from experience that one small glass of this chai and you feel warm for at least 6 hours! I am really not joking… that’s why I used to frequently buy it or make it whenever I used to feel quite cold, not withstanding the time it takes to be prepared!

No color is added to kashmiri tea. The color is due to boiling the tea leaves together with a pinch or two of sodium bicarbonate for quite long. U have to boil until the tea leaves open up completely. Then milk is added to it together with the salt and it is again boiled until everything mixes up quite well… The key to a tasty kashmiri noon chai is ‘time’. U need to boil it a lot. Mostly cardamom is avoided in noon chai(kashmiri pink tea) and only salt is added -no sugar. U can add whatever dry fruits u like. -that don’t have any sweet taste.

Thank you so much for your comments Bint e Maqbool… I do exactly what you say about boiling the tea leaves… the Kashmiri chai we get here is sweet with a slight tinge of salt, but never without sugar. If we ask the outlet person, they tell us it will have sugar. Appreciate your feedback, especially since it comes from someone who must be making it frequently…